Sheet stacking devices for printing machines

ABSTRACT

The invention is concerned with sheet stacking devices for printing machines in which an auxiliary stack table is slid into position above a main stack table, and serves to solve the problem which arises when small format sheets are stacked and rear abutments are brought forward so that they foul the edge of the auxiliary table and prevent its being slid home. In the invention the rear abutments are linked so that they can be rocked clear of the auxuliary table under control of a first abutment. The first abutment is pivotally mounted so that it can be moved clear of the table during the table movement. In one embodiment the first abutment pivot is arranged parallel with the advancing edge of the table and is moved clear of the table path by contact with that edge. In another embodiment the first abutment is linked to a lever carrying a roller which engages a cam on the table. In a third embodiment the first abutment is movable by an electromagnet which is energised by a microswitch actuatable by a cam on the table.

United States Patent 0 1 Reutter et al.

[4 Mar. 12, 1974 SHEET STACKING DEVICES FOR PRINTING MACHINES [75]Inventors: Hans Reutter, Dortmund-Korne;

Fritz Sendlinger, Dortmund; Hans Alix, Offenbach am Main, all of Germany[73] Assignee: Roland Olfsetmaschinenfabrik Faber & Schleicher AG,Offenbach am Main, Germany [22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.:183,129

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 29, 1970 Germany 204780852] U.S Cl. ..27 1/ 18 9 27 1/204 '[51] Int. Cl B65h 31/00 [58] Field ofSearch 271/86, 88, 79, 62 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,795,420 6/1957 Rooney 271/88 3,006,635 10/1961 Elliott 271/62 A2,847,215 8/1958 Koch 271/88 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter [5ABSTRACT The invention is concerned with sheet stacking devices forprinting machines in which an auxiliary stack table is slid intoposition above a main stack table, and serves to solve the problem whicharises when small format sheets are stacked and rear abutments arebrought forward so that they foul the edge of the auxiliary table andprevent its being slid home. In the invention the rear abutments arelinked so that they can be rocked clear of the auxuliary table undercontrol of a first abutment. The first abutment is pivotally mounted sothat it can be moved clear of the table during the table movement. Inone embodiment the first abutment pivot is arranged parallel with theadvancing edge of the table and is moved clear of the table path bycontact with that edge. In another embodiment the firstabutment islinked to a lever carrying a roller which engages a cam on the table. Ina third embodiment the first abutment is movable by an electromagnetwhich is energised by a microswitch actuatable by a cam on the table.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures SHEET STACKING DEVICES FOR PRINTINGMACHINES The invention relates to a sheet stacking device for printingmachines, with an auxiliary stack table which can be slid in above themain stack table, and rear sheet abutments which align the rear ends ofthe sheets to be stacked.

Such sheet stacking devices have the object of depositing in tidy stackssheets which are freshly printed and transported from the printingmachine by endless chain conveyors. For this purpose, on the stackingdevice at least rear sheet abutments are provided by which the sheetstack is aligned. Generally, front sheet abutments which are movable insynchronism with the arriving sheets are furthermore provided, by whichthe sheets are stopped and pushed against the rear sheet abutments.Straight pushing members movably arranged laterally of the stack servefor the lateral alignment of the sheets of the stack. An auxiliary stacktable which can he slid in above the main stack table serves for thetemporary reception of sheets during the time that the stack is beingchanged. With the aid of it, a continuous stacking of sheets can beachieved without stopping the machine.

Such sheet stacking devices are generally. known. They all have howeverthe following disadvantage: After the'sheets are transported above thestack by means of endless chain conveyors, the grippers holding thefront edges of the sheets open at a predetermined place so that thesheets pass directly in front of the front sheet abutments. Whenchanging over to a smaller format, the rear sheet abutments must becorrespondingly shifted forward, so that a normally dimensionedauxiliary stack table suitable for the maximum format can no longer becompletely slid in place, since it now abuts with its edge against theforwardly shifted sheet abutments. This has the consequence that withthe minimum format, the table extends out of the stacking device byabouthalf a metre and considerably impairs the operation and accessibility ofthe machine.

Sheet stacking devices are known in which the surface of the auxiliarystack table has grooves in which the sheet abutments can extend onsliding in of the table. However the smooth stacking surface is lost bythis, which is particularly disadvantageous with thin sheet material.

The problem underlying the invention is to avoid the disadvantages ofthe already known sheet depositing devices. This problem is solved inthat the rear sheet abutments are movable out of the space required bythe slid-in auxiliary stack table and at least a part of the abutmentsis movableinto, or substantially into,

I are arranged at the beginning and end of the carrying rails guidingthe'auxiliary stack table. Also, mechanically acting cam controls can beused. In any case, the sliding in procedure is automated.

In one form of the invention, the sheet abutments are rockably mountedand in each case two abutments are coupled by a linkage in such mannerthat the moving out of the first sheet abutment from the space requiredby the slid in auxiliary stack table causes the movement of the secondabutment until contact with the surface of the auxiliary stack table.This arrangement is especially stable mechanically and moreover is lessliable to disturbance. With direct rocking of the first abutment by thefront edge of the auxiliary stack table, viewed in the sliding indirection, otherwise necessary actuating and control members for theabutments, which could be sources of error, are avoided.

In a preferred embodiment, the rocking axis of the first sheet abutmentis arranged approximately parallel to the rear edge of the stack tableand the rocking axis of the second abutment approximatelyperpendicularly thereto and parallel to the surface of the stack table.This arrangement is structurally particularly simple.

The first sheet abutment is advantageously movable by the auxiliarystack table against the constantly acting force of a spring.

Several embodiments of the invention are diagrammatically illustrated inthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a sheet depositing device according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet depositing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of an embodiment of the rear sheetabutmentsof a device according to the invention, to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 3; r

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, on the line VI-VI in FIG. 7 of the rearsheet abutments with the auxiliary deposit table slid in;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 6;

FIG, 8 is a front elevation of a further embodiment of rear sheetabutments according to the inventiomon an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of magnetically actuated rear sheetabutments; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. I, printed sheets 1 are moved over a deposit stack ordelivery pile by chain conveyors 2 from a printing machine, notillustrated, and are deposited there. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a main stacktable 3 which can move upwardly and downwardly, and an auxiliary stacktable or delivery table 6 which can be slid in, in U-rails 4, 5. Afteropening of a gripper 7 the sheets are braked by a braking device 10 witha plurality of suction nozzle drums 101 arranged in the vicinity of therear sheet abutments or stops 8, 9 and are aligned by the front sheetabutments or stops 1 l, which are movable in synchronism with thearriving sheets, and the rear abutments 8, 9 on an auxiliary stack 12.The braking device 10 bridges the stacking device, axially parallel tothe gripper arm shafts, by a traverse 104 guided in lateral guides 102and 103 and on which mountings 105 and 106 for the rear abutments aremounted at right angles, and by the shaft 107 for the suction rollers101, and the shaft 108 for the toothed wheels and 16. The brakingdevice, inclusive of the rear sheet abutments 8, 9 is displaceable inthe sheet feed direction, on toothed guide racks 13, 14 (FIG. 2), inorder to be able to adapt the positions of the rear sheet abutments 8, 9to the sheet format. The displacement is effected by rotating thetoothed wheels 15, 16 which are connected by the shaft 108, on thetoothed guide racks 13, 14.

FIGS. 3 to 7 show the position and manner of operation of the rear sheetabutments 8, 9 of one embodiment of the invention, on an enlarged scale.A first abutment 9 is povitally arranged by means of a pin 17 on a lever18 and is positively connected with the second abutment 8 by a linkageincluding the members 18, 19, and 22. The lever 18 is fixedly mounted ona pin 19 which is rotatable in a bearing 20 of the traverse 104 of thebraking arrangement 10. Moreover, on the pin 19, a further lever 21 isfixed which is connected through a link 22 with the second abutment 8.The second abutment 8 is rotatably arranged on a further bearing 23 onthe traverse 104 of the braking arrangement 10, by means of a stud orpin 24. The link 22 is connected with the abutment 8 through a stud 25and a slot 26. The linkage consisting of the parts 18, 19, 21 and 22 isbiased against an abutment 28 bya tension spring 27 (FIG. 4). In thisposition, the first sheet abutment 9 is disposed in its aligningposition. If in accordance with the broken line representation in FIG.4, the auxiliary stack table 6 is slid into position in the direction ofthe arrow 29 past the position of the first sheet abutment 9, for thestacking of sheets of small format, then the abutment 9 is swung awayagainst the force of the spring 27 and simultaneously in accordance withFIGS. 6 and 7 the second sheet abutment 8 is lowered onto the auxiliarystack table 6.

with each other through a coupling rod 36. On a further mounting 37 ofthe traverse 104 of the braking arrangementlO, a two-arm lever or crank38 is rockably arranged. One arm of the lever 38 is constructed as aroller lever 39, its roller 40 co-operating with a cam member 41 (FIG.9) arranged on the auxiliary stack table 6. The other arm 42 of thelever 38 is connected by a coupling 43 with a further two-arm lever 44.This is likewise rotatably mounted in the mounting 37. Lever 44 andsheet abutment 31 are connected with each other via a further couplingmember 45. The sheet abutment 31 is biased in the clockwise'direction(as seen in FIG. 8) against an abutment 47 by a spring 46. As will beseen from FIG. 8, sliding in of the auxiliary stack table 6 beyond thesheet abutments 30, 31 would not be possible. However, shortly beforethe engagement of the auxiliary stack table 6 with the sheet abutments30, 31 the roller 40 of the roller lever 39 comes into contact with thecam surface 41 on the auxiliary deposit table 6, and via the interposedlinkage 38, 43, 44 and 45 swings the sheet abutment 31 in ananti-clockwise direction against the force of the spring 46 out of thepath of the auxiliary deposit table 6. Simultaneously, via the couplingrod 36 the other sheet abutment 30 is swung in the clockwise direction.After the auxiliary stack table has been pushed under the sheetabutments 30, 31, the roller 40 of the cam lever 39 moves out of contactwith the cam 41 and the sheet abutments 30, 31 are swung by the spring46 until they contact the surface of the auxiliary deposit table 6.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate sheet abutments 30, 31 likewise connectedwith each other by a coupling rod 36, and held in contact with theabutment 47 by a spring 46. Unlike the embodiment according to FIGS. 8and 9, the displacement of the abutments out of the path of theauxiliary deposit table 6 is here effected by an electromagnet orsolenoid 50. The armature of the electromagnet is connected by anintermediate bar 51 with the sheet abutment 31. The electromagnet isenergised when a switch 52 comes into contact with a projection 53provided on the auxiliary deposit table 6.

The switch 52 is mounted on a right angle extension 521 of an L-shapedmounting 522 which is provided on the traverse 104 of the brakingarrangement in the sheet running direction, and is adjustable in such amanner that even with rapid pushing in of the auxiliary stack table 6,the electromagnet swings the sheet abutments 30 and 31 out of the path,in advance.

It will be appreciated that if more than two abutments are provided theadditional abutments can be rockably mounted and linked for movement toa first abutment in the same way as the second abutment is I linked formovement in the embodiments described above.

What is claimed is: l. A sheet feeding device of a printing press, saiddevice comprising in combination:

a frame an up and down movable main delivery pile table and an auxiliarydelivery pile table; conveyor means having a portion thereof positionedabove said auxiliary table for. delivering sheet thereto guide means forslidably supporting said auxiliary table above and parallel to said maintable into any one of several selected positions a movable support meanssupported by and bridging said frame; said guide means being supportedby said movable support means; front stop means secured to andprotruding from the auxiliary table for aligning the leading edge ofsheets delivered to the auxiliary table;

rear stop means including a first rear stop member and a second rearstop member, said support means including pivotable means for supportingsaid rear stop members for alternately pivoting the same into an activeposition in which one stop member coacts with the trailing edge ofsheets delivered to the auxiliary table to effect in conjunction withthe front stop means aligning of the delivered sheets while the otherstop member is an inactive position clear of the auxiliary table, andbias means for biasing said pivotable means of said support means towardthe pivotable position in which the first rear stop member is in itsactive position while the second rear stop member is in its inactiveposition, placement of said table in one selected position freeing thebias means for pivoting the first rear stop member into its activeposition and placement of said table into another selected positionmoving said table into engagement with the second rear stop memberthereby pivoting the pivotable means of said support means against theaction of said bias means into a position in which the second rear stopmember is in its active aligning position and the first stop member isin its inactive position.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said pivotable means comprisea pivot pin for each of said rear stop members and linkage meanscoupling said stop members for pivotable movement about said pins in onedirection by the action of said bias means and for pivotable movement inthe opposite direction in response to engagement of the second rear stopmember with said auxiliary table.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said auxiliary table is ofsubstantially rectangular configuration, two of the edges of the tablebeing normal to the direction of displacement of the table, and whereinsaid front stop means are disposed parallel to said edges and the rearstop means being disposed adjacent to the other of said edges, the axisof the pivot pin for the first rear stop member being substantiallyparallel to said other edge and the axis of the pin for the second rearstop member being substantially normal to said other edge andsubstantially parallel to the surface of the auxiliary table.

4. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pinsare substantially parallel to the sur face of said auxiliary table, andwherein said linkage means include a link mounting a cam follower and anedge portion of said other edge of the auxiliary table constitutes a camsurface engageable with said cam follower when the auxiliary table isslidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position,engage- 7 ment of the cam follower with said cam surface upon saiddisplacement of the table causing said pivoting of said support meansagainst the action of said bias means.

5. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pinsare substantially parallel to the surface of said auxiliary table, andwherein solenoid means coact with said first rear stop member forcausing in re sponse to energization pivoting of the support means forthe rear stop members into the position in which the first rear stopmember is in its inactive position and the second rear stop member is inits active position, said solenoid means being connected in anenergizing circuit including a circuit means, an edge portion of theauxiliary table engageable with the first rear stop mem her when saidtable is slidably moved in said guide means into said other selectedposition mounting a cam surface coacting with said switch means so as tooper ate the same for energizing said solenoid means.

1. A sheet feeding device of a printing press, said device comprising incombination: a frame an up and down movable main delivery pile table andan auxiliary delivery pile table; conveyor means having a portionthereof positioned above said auxiliary table for delivering sheetthereto guide means for slidably supporting said auxiliary table aboveand parallel to said main table into any one of several selectedpositions; a movable support means supported by and bridging said frame;said guide means being supported by said movable support means; frontstop means secured to and protruding from the auxiliary table foraligning the leading edge of sheets delivered to the auxiliary table;rear stop means including a first rear stop member and a second rearstop member, said support means including pivotable means for supportingsaid rear stop members for alternately pivoting the same into an activeposition in which one stop member coacts with the trailing edge ofsheets delivered to the auxiliary table to effect in conjunction withthe front stop means aligning of the delivered sheets while the otherstop member is an inactive position clear of the auxiliary table, andbias means for biasing said pivotable means of said support means towardthe pivotable position in which the first rear stop member is in itsactive position while the second rear stop member is in its inactiveposition, placement of said table in one selected position freeing thebias means for pivoting the first rear stop member into its activeposition and placement of said table into another selected positionmoving said table into engagement with the second rear stop memberthereby pivoting the pivotable means of said support means against theaction of said bias means into a position in which the second rear stopmember is in its active aligning position and the first stop member isin its inactive position.
 2. The device according to claim 1 whereinsaid pivotable means comprise a pivot pin for each of said rear stopmembers and linkage means coupling said stop members for pivotablemovement about said pins in one direction by the action of said biasmeans and for pivotable movement in the opposite direction in responseto engagement of the second rear stop member with said auxiliary table.3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said auxiliary table is ofsubstantially rectangular configuration, two of the edges of the tablebeing normal to the direction of displacement of the table, and whereinsaid front stop means are disposed parallel to said edges and the rearstop means being disposed adjacent to the other of said edges, the axisof the pivot pin for the first rear stop member being substantiallyparallel to said other edge and the axis of the pin for the second rearstop member being substantially normal to said other edge andsubstantially parallel to the surface of the auxiliary table.
 4. Thedevice according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins aresubstantially parallel to the surface of said auxiliary table, andwherein said linkage means include a link mounting a cam follower and anedge portion of said other edge of the auxiliary table constitutes a camsurface engageable with said cam follower when the auxiliary table isslidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position,engagement of the cam follower with said cam surface upon saiddisplacement of the table causing said pivoting of said support meansagainst the action of said bias means.
 5. The device according to claim2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins are substantially parallel to thesurface of said auxiliary table, and wherein solenoid means coact withsaid first rear stop member for causing in response to energizationpivoting of the support means for the rear stop members into theposition in which the first rear stop member is in its inactive positionand the second rear stop member is in its active position, said solenoidmeans being connected in an energizing circuit including a circuitmeans, an edge portion of the auxiliary table engageable with the firstrear stop member when said table is slidably moved in said guide meansinto said other selected position mounting a cam surface coacting withsaid switch means so as to operate the same for energizing said solenoidmeans.